SpiceJet's Q1 net profit up 18%

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet on Thursday reported a growth of 18 per cent in its net profit for the first quarter (Q1) of 2017-18.

According to the airline, its Q1 net profit increased to Rs 175 crore from Rs 149 crore during the like period of 2016-17.

The company said its operating revenues were up 22.87 per cent to Rs 1,869 crore for the said quarter as against Rs 1,521 crore for the same quarter last year.

On an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) basis, SpiceJet reported a profit of Rs 248 crore as against Rs 215 crore in the same quarter last year.

“From being on the brink of a near shutdown to being lauded for creating thousands of jobs in the world’s largest economy within a span of mere ten quarters, exemplifies SpiceJet’s amazing turnaround. We had an eventful quarter as we took off under the Udan scheme and launched operations on two routes,” Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Ten successive profitable quarters, a record aircraft order and exploring new growth avenues through the Udan programme — SpiceJet remains firmly on track for its long term growth strategy.”

In terms of operational parameters, SpiceJet performed well in the quarter with the airline clocking industry leading numbers of over 93 per cent passenger load factor during all three months.

“The company witnessed a 9 per cent increase in its passenger yields while its average load factor was 94.07 per cent,” the statement said.

“SpiceJet has recorded more than 90 per cent load factor for 27 successive months, a feat unparalleled globally.”